Transform Columbus Day: a little introspection and history

[angka]

If you’re convicted by the plight of the underdog, as I am, Saturday morning’s Transform Columbus Day rally at the Capitol was a heartening experience. As a history major, it’s tough to imagine a more oppressed people than Native Americans. Even skinny white empathetic liberals like myself can’t, I suppose, really comprehend what that expression of solidarity—consistent with the whole scope of recent assertion by Native American activists—meant to them as they gathered to face pre-arranged arrest.

But this, of course, is where the story gets a little murkier. They gathered, as they have for years now, to march on Denver’s Columbus Day parade; historically the first such celebration in the country—and an event fiercely defended by Denver’s substantial Italian-American community.

It is a question of historical interpretation. Native Americans view Columbus as a symbol of genocide, who, upon arrival in the Americas, immediately identified the native population as a source of slave labor. It is true that somewhere around 50 million Native Americans were dead by 1600, through a combination of ruthless enslavement and Western diseases. It’s worth pointing out that the Spanish knew no more of germ theory than the Native Americans did, and smallpox beat them to practically every conquest. But it’s clear from history that the wholesale devastation of Native American cultures can only be compared to a small list of extreme genocides from the middle 20th century—and Christopher Columbus got that ball rolling.

Italian-Americans, on the other hand, view Columbus as a trailblazer for their own ancestors’ emigration to the “New World” (Native Americans bristle at this term, correctly pointing out that they’ve been here for millennia). Columbus’ questionable nationality aside, the origins of Columbus Day are squarely rooted in the Italian-Americans’ desire for a major holiday. Therein lies the rub—they’ve picked their hero, who happens to be justifiably vilified by millions of other people: and both sides are true minorities with unique histories of discrimination. Italian-Americans also point out that it’s a little unfair to focus the rage of centuries of oppression on them, since most Italian-American families in the United States today arrived after 1890.

So the question returns to—why Columbus? The ‘Columbus Day’ parade did not contain a single image of Columbus. In fact, there was a distinct lack of cultural statements whatsoever, with the exception of hundreds of Italian flags, and the occasional dressed-up-like-a-peasant girl. You could have called it Leonardo da Vinci day, or Silvio Berlusconi day, or whatever. It seemed to me that the parade for Italian-Americans had devolved after years of conflict with the Native Americans: it was a belligerent affair, with motorcycle gangs flanking the endless procession of flag-bedecked SUVs and construction vehicles, gunning their Harleys to ensure none of the kids on the trucks could hear the chanting. Often times the paraders on the flatbed trucks vented some tension by giving the protesters the finger, which was great fun for both sides.

Before any of their Suburbans and cement mixers could roll, of course, more than two hundred thirty people had to be cleared from their parade route, read their rights, and peaceably bused down to the City and County building for booking on loitering charges. In order to prevent the sort of violence that had marred prior Columbus Day confrontations, the whole process by which protesters would violate the law, en masse, and be peacefully removed in time for the Italian-Americans to hold their parade had been negotiated with the police days prior. Every one of those hundreds of people committed an act of defiance more symbolic than effective in terms of preventing the inevitable Columbus Day parade. The only alternative was a street battle, with cops gassing the battling factions apart—

So what’s the solution here? Do we continue with the misguided veneration of someone whom history has proven to be the antithesis of a hero, when many others could serve much better? Do these Italian-Americans really think Columbus was the greatest Italian (if he even was one) contribution to world history?

Do Italian-Americans want to continue to wrongly endure the visceral anger of thousands of Native Americans, when it can all be fixed with a simple understanding of their (and our common) history, and a simple frigging holiday name change?

Would it help if I offered to pull one of their floats with my Kia in the inaugural da Vinci Day Parade?

[knowbody0]

1. KISS

[Maple]

2. Dunno. The Vikings discovered Canada 1000 AD

Chinese found the Americas in 1421

Why is everybody picking on the Italians?

[angka]

4. yeah

well i think the biggest reason the italians get beat on for this is their angry, defiant response. i don't think it's difficult to see why this upsets native americans like it does, and they've been going back and forth for so many years that it's now a matter of last year's grievances more than the larger issue.

i really don't get the godlike importance of columbus. fact is, i love italians (dated one in high school), and they're just as entitled to a business-closing national hodiay as anyone else.

i love holidays. overworked americans need more of them.

so yes, let's have da vinci day, where i will gladly drink lots of wine and hit on hot italian girls, and let's give the native americans a full-on easter-style everything's frigging closed holiday while we're at it.

i don't know what this seems so damn hard --

[travelpet]

5. Italians don't need holidays for Americans to celebrate their

heritage. We do just find celebrating our true heritage, our
music, our art, our food, our families. So don't blame
Columbus Day and any problems you may have with it on the
Italians (altho I'm Sicilian myself). I don't think there is a
city of any size in this country that does not have at least
one Italian or Sicilian festival every year. If there is, I'd
like to hear about it.

[Robb]

3. Think about Labor day

...you have to look awfully hard to see any signs of big "L" Labor in a parade. : At least I did. shrug:

I agree, it's unfair to focus the rage of centuries of oppression on Italian-Americans. It's also too bad that Italian-Americans have entrenched themselves with this holiday when indeed they could do much, much better... again, it's an education issue more than anything else. You nailed that part.